[Yes, much easier to accept kindness when there's a dollop of self-interest in it, he would agree—]
Techmaturgy... I have not heard the word before.
[But he knows how language works, so it's not hard to figure out what it probably means. He raises an eyebrow curiously, drifting around to perch on the arm of the chair he's haunting; putting a pin in real estate to talk about things-with-"tech"-in-them—]
Magical technology, is that correct. In life I was an inventor first. Before alchemy. And I have dabbled in the magical arts.
[He can't actually show much more interest without sort of dissolving around the edges, but maybe his unblinking stare and the way he tilts forward a bit can stand in for that. Tell him all the details.]
Yes, [ comes his answer, ] It is an intersectional field of chemistry, engineering and physics. It is wielded to serve what we call Hextech.
[ it is alright that octavian can't show his interest in more obvious ways — it is enough for viktor that he very clearly has the spectre's undivided attention, enough so that he is perching on the chair, leaning towards him slightly.
in turn, viktor leans forward, too, gripping his crutch for support. ]
So you were an inventor? Fascinating. You must tell me of your inventions some time. [ as soon as possible, in fact, but he recognises that he needs to explain this first. ] Where I come from, magic was thought to be something only the mages could use, innate, inherent. But Hextech... proved that wrong. [ his voice is animated in a way it hasn't been until now. ]
I cannot continue Hextech here, I lack some necessary materials, but... I wish to see what there is that I could do. So, yes, I require space for machinery.
[Hextech, is it; he'll remember that. It's easily the most interesting thing he's heard of when it comes to other people's local sciences, and if that's because he himself is only a stone's throw away from "magical inventor," well! That doesn't lessen his interest, certainly!
He nods - yes, he would love to talk about inventions one of these days, of course - but doesn't interrupt. There's this idea again that magic is somehow a circumstance of one's birth rather than a thing to be taught, he's heard that from people here already; strange, to be sure.]
A larger facility. Spacious. Of course. [He nods, glancing to the side, recalling a few buildings he's seen... hmm. And,] That drive towards innovation is admirable.
[To bring magic to the people, that is, so he figures he should add,] Magic is not innate where I am from. It is taught and learned like any skill. An instrument.
[And if it isn't like that where Viktor is from, but one could do it with a physical object, there must be a physical medium for magic? Fascinating. He will have to ask about this later, too.]
[ admirable, octavian says, and viktor's expression crumbles as he looks down and away — with a shake of his head, ] Perhaps. I fear my contributions to the world shall remain... less, than I should have liked.
[ there is more to say here, and maybe one day viktor will say it all; but as it is, he falls silent, listens to octavian speak of how magic is simply a skill in his home, something to be learned like anything else. ]
... I see. How different that must be. And did you learn it, too?
[ genuine curiosity enters his voice, once more, as he lifts his head and looks at octavian. ] You said you were an inventor. Is alchemy only a necessity? [ given his, hm, unfortunate state of being. ]
[Oh, is this a sensitive subject? Octavian notes that, and notes especially that Viktor considers his contributions less; as a literal dead person, he has plenty to project onto that... if he wanted to bring the mood severely down, that is. Maybe another time, he will ask.
Magic, instead, is fun and uplifting, at least in his experience.]
My parents were magicians. Quite famous. Their notoriety came with expectations for my brother and I.
[So he learned, and it was nice, and it might have been mostly a family bonding thing, but at least some of it helped him out with his... predicament. He lifts a hand to wave it this way and that, for Viktor's next question; yes, maybe, sort of?]
Alchemy was a hobby at first. A personal project. Like all alchemists I was interested in defeating death itself. [A beat, and a pointed glance down at, well, himself. Ha ha,] One of these days.
[ indeed it is — rather much so, though it doesn't require all that much to actually push him into the spiral he'd already been in back home, the way his guilt is eating him up, the way he still feels like he should have liked to do more, to achieve more... the way he wants to be remembered, as selfish as that is. the way that only makes him feel more guilty, because shouldn't sky's death have removed all traces of that by now?
the distraction of octavian's parentage is much welcome, and viktor focuses on that fully... even when he speaks of alchemy and defeating death, because that again strikes a little too close to home, with the potential he now believes the hexcore to possess, if only the price of it all wasn't far too much to bear. ]
You are dead, but not gone. That is ingenuity already. [ partial, though, and viktor's tone is — well, from someone else this might come across as placating, condescending even, a but you're doing so well already; from viktor, it's just a fact, nothing more. octavian is very obviously a smart man, and it'd be stupid to pretend otherwise... and equally stupid to treat it like it's somehow a victory in and of itself. ] But I suppose it is much like working with the arcane — a lot of trial and error.
[ anyway, let him go back to, ] So you learned magic from your parents? You and your brother?
[Octavian hums, acknowledging but not quite thanking Viktor for that almost-compliment; that would be condescending from anyone else, it's true, he would hate it. At least Viktor is a fellow man of science, and not one trying to treat him like an experiment—not any more than he himself is doing, anyway. So, almost-thanks.]
Trial and error. Indeed. It was fortunate circumstance that prevented my oblivion in the first place.
[Because if he hadn't been following that age-old alchemist's dream to defeat death, would he have had the groundwork available to pull himself back from the void at all? Doubtful, he knows; he can acknowledge the success he's reached like this, despite the impossibility of the odds, and still be frustrated about the stalled-out nature of progress. Thirty years wasted! Ridiculous.
But at least he's out of that goddamn room.]
You speak as if learning magic is uncommon. We were taught together. Yes.
[He says this like, of course they were, they're siblings, why wouldn't they have been brought up the same. Oh and also there was magic and it was ordinary, yeah, true.]
Some are more adept at it than others. But anyone can learn the theory of magic. At the very least.
Many things that change the course of a life, or many lives, often are. [ subject to circumstances, that is — if only one thing had been different, had gone differently, if only a word had or hadn't been spoken... an infinite number of possibilities, yet only one version of the reality they are living in.
but back to magic, ]
A skill like any other. How is magic viewed, then? Something as commonplace as any aspect of science? Feared or respected? [ a pause. ] You said your parents were magicians, no? What did they... do with it?
You are not incorrect, [he concedes, because it simply is what it is. Something about the innate unpredictable nature of the universe and so on, circumstance, etc. He doesn't disagree.
Anyway, many questions... His parents are the most interesting part in his opinion, so he'll start with them,]
My parents dealt in enchantments. Mostly. A fireplace that would burn indefinitely. A door locked without a key. And so on. They could manipulate the elements to an extent. When I was a boy they enchanted my glasses to never break.
[Not this present pair of glasses, obviously, even besides how they're not exactly "real" anymore anyway. But it remains a fond memory, so it's worth mentioning.
Now, less warm and fuzzy and more lecture-like, although it's not much of a difference,]
Magic is among the sciences. The materials are changed. But many of the concepts overlap. [....,] Well. I am behind the times these days. I can only assume.
Enchantments, [ he repeats, almost contemplative — how interesting. and completely different from the mages of runeterra, of course; magic had been a destructive force if anything, believed by many to be unable to be anything else... until hextech, in any case. ]
Curious, how different the same concept may be, when one changes the surroundings in which it appears.
[ and then, after a slight pause, ] They sound remarkable people. [ his parents, obviously. it's something he needs to add, his focus always first on the information and second on the emotion, but that doesn't mean it's not sincerely meant. ]
... And you? Are you capable of these enchantments, as well? Since they taught you, you must have been, at a point in time. [ but whether his ghostly nature has changed that, well. he'd like to know. ]
Most of the people here think alchemy is only for stories and ignorant people of old.
[Which is only funny the first handful of times, because as much as Root tries to ascribe him the mantle of wise old professor, he really does not have that much patience for explaining himself for ultimately no reward. Could people whose changed surroundings end in "pfft alchemy is fake and magic isn't real" just move on and not ask him anything, for god's sake...
Anyway. He agrees on that point, in any case. About the concepts. The aside about his parents earns a brief and small smile, an effort both herculean and automatic, then,]
I was never a master enchanter. But the ideas. Yes. I do remember my formulas. Most of me is enchantment at the moment.
It is not so different from chemistry, [ viktor says with a flat tone, like it isn't all that surprising that people are writing it off so quickly; it is very much what people do, in general, ] And as I have understood that magic exists in quite many worlds, that someone would combine it with the sciences should not be such a surprising matter.
[ but then, people also have limited understanding of even basic concepts. that is why, even though he wants to help people as a broad concept, he isn't, well. a people-person, by any stretch of imagination. ]
... I see. That makes sense, [ both that he would remember and that his current form is mostly an enchantment, now. carefully, ] Do you believe it could be taught, still? [ and because he's not the type to circle around a point, ] I do not have any hextech crystals here, right now, which means I cannot use the runes I know. But I wonder if I might learn to use yours, to a similar effect.
The synchronicity is an obvious conclusion, [yes, agreed, Viktor is so smart, unlike - um, teenagers who ask him questions he considers foolish. Never mind that detail.] Why should a discipline not borrow from another.
[He waves a hand, dismissing entirely everyone who has ever questioned him about alchemy and thinks magic and science are mutually exclusive. These people... would not be welcomed at his alma mater, he supposes.
But, enchantments, yes.]
I would show you. [And the "would" there is important, because he could show anyone, but the list of people he would show is countable on one hand. Congratulations.] If you will show me yours in turn. Inert or otherwise.
True discoveries are born out of the mixing of disciplines, yes? Chemistry, physics, mathematics, engineering... it all comes together.
[ and alchemy is no different, of course — he may not be adept at it, but far it be from him to dismiss it entirely.
he considers the offer — and nods. ]
Yes, of course. [ he would hardly expect not to return the favour; besides, he has a feeling octavian will understand the workings of hextech, of how the arcane speaks through the runes. it is not an easy feat to get it all to work, but he thinks octavian may just be such a man who could actually work on hextech, too. ]
I can show you the principle, the runes, all of it... and if I ever get a hextech crystal, more than the principle.
Of course. [Of course, of course, if only everyone who ever lived could understand the basic understanding of disciplines as separated by only a thin mesh, and not, like, steel walls. Interdisciplinary works are the strongest kind...!
Like this, for example, mixing together whatever this "hextech" thing really is with his own understanding of alchemy and runes. If he were capable of looking more delighted, he would, but the ghostly dullness of his gaze does sparkle a little more. Yes, show him the crystals... somehow.]
That would be excellent. We will need space to compare runes. [A lot of chalkboards? Or perhaps just a lot of floor space, considering what he's done to his working half of this room. Which brings him back around to,] Shall we browse the local real estate now.
[ once he has found the appropriate space to work in, of course... and maybe manages to either obtain a hexgem of his own, somehow, or persuade jinx to part with hers.
but yes, time to get back to business — ]
Yes, let's. [ And Then They Browsed Real Estate! ]
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no subject
Techmaturgy... I have not heard the word before.
[But he knows how language works, so it's not hard to figure out what it probably means. He raises an eyebrow curiously, drifting around to perch on the arm of the chair he's haunting; putting a pin in real estate to talk about things-with-"tech"-in-them—]
Magical technology, is that correct. In life I was an inventor first. Before alchemy. And I have dabbled in the magical arts.
[He can't actually show much more interest without sort of dissolving around the edges, but maybe his unblinking stare and the way he tilts forward a bit can stand in for that. Tell him all the details.]
Then you require space for machinery.
no subject
[ it is alright that octavian can't show his interest in more obvious ways — it is enough for viktor that he very clearly has the spectre's undivided attention, enough so that he is perching on the chair, leaning towards him slightly.
in turn, viktor leans forward, too, gripping his crutch for support. ]
So you were an inventor? Fascinating. You must tell me of your inventions some time. [ as soon as possible, in fact, but he recognises that he needs to explain this first. ] Where I come from, magic was thought to be something only the mages could use, innate, inherent. But Hextech... proved that wrong. [ his voice is animated in a way it hasn't been until now. ]
I cannot continue Hextech here, I lack some necessary materials, but... I wish to see what there is that I could do. So, yes, I require space for machinery.
no subject
He nods - yes, he would love to talk about inventions one of these days, of course - but doesn't interrupt. There's this idea again that magic is somehow a circumstance of one's birth rather than a thing to be taught, he's heard that from people here already; strange, to be sure.]
A larger facility. Spacious. Of course. [He nods, glancing to the side, recalling a few buildings he's seen... hmm. And,] That drive towards innovation is admirable.
[To bring magic to the people, that is, so he figures he should add,] Magic is not innate where I am from. It is taught and learned like any skill. An instrument.
[And if it isn't like that where Viktor is from, but one could do it with a physical object, there must be a physical medium for magic? Fascinating. He will have to ask about this later, too.]
no subject
[ there is more to say here, and maybe one day viktor will say it all; but as it is, he falls silent, listens to octavian speak of how magic is simply a skill in his home, something to be learned like anything else. ]
... I see. How different that must be. And did you learn it, too?
[ genuine curiosity enters his voice, once more, as he lifts his head and looks at octavian. ] You said you were an inventor. Is alchemy only a necessity? [ given his, hm, unfortunate state of being. ]
no subject
Magic, instead, is fun and uplifting, at least in his experience.]
My parents were magicians. Quite famous. Their notoriety came with expectations for my brother and I.
[So he learned, and it was nice, and it might have been mostly a family bonding thing, but at least some of it helped him out with his... predicament. He lifts a hand to wave it this way and that, for Viktor's next question; yes, maybe, sort of?]
Alchemy was a hobby at first. A personal project. Like all alchemists I was interested in defeating death itself. [A beat, and a pointed glance down at, well, himself. Ha ha,] One of these days.
no subject
the distraction of octavian's parentage is much welcome, and viktor focuses on that fully... even when he speaks of alchemy and defeating death, because that again strikes a little too close to home, with the potential he now believes the hexcore to possess, if only the price of it all wasn't far too much to bear. ]
You are dead, but not gone. That is ingenuity already. [ partial, though, and viktor's tone is — well, from someone else this might come across as placating, condescending even, a but you're doing so well already; from viktor, it's just a fact, nothing more. octavian is very obviously a smart man, and it'd be stupid to pretend otherwise... and equally stupid to treat it like it's somehow a victory in and of itself. ] But I suppose it is much like working with the arcane — a lot of trial and error.
[ anyway, let him go back to, ] So you learned magic from your parents? You and your brother?
no subject
Trial and error. Indeed. It was fortunate circumstance that prevented my oblivion in the first place.
[Because if he hadn't been following that age-old alchemist's dream to defeat death, would he have had the groundwork available to pull himself back from the void at all? Doubtful, he knows; he can acknowledge the success he's reached like this, despite the impossibility of the odds, and still be frustrated about the stalled-out nature of progress. Thirty years wasted! Ridiculous.
But at least he's out of that goddamn room.]
You speak as if learning magic is uncommon. We were taught together. Yes.
[He says this like, of course they were, they're siblings, why wouldn't they have been brought up the same. Oh and also there was magic and it was ordinary, yeah, true.]
Some are more adept at it than others. But anyone can learn the theory of magic. At the very least.
no subject
but back to magic, ]
A skill like any other. How is magic viewed, then? Something as commonplace as any aspect of science? Feared or respected? [ a pause. ] You said your parents were magicians, no? What did they... do with it?
no subject
Anyway, many questions... His parents are the most interesting part in his opinion, so he'll start with them,]
My parents dealt in enchantments. Mostly. A fireplace that would burn indefinitely. A door locked without a key. And so on. They could manipulate the elements to an extent. When I was a boy they enchanted my glasses to never break.
[Not this present pair of glasses, obviously, even besides how they're not exactly "real" anymore anyway. But it remains a fond memory, so it's worth mentioning.
Now, less warm and fuzzy and more lecture-like, although it's not much of a difference,]
Magic is among the sciences. The materials are changed. But many of the concepts overlap. [....,] Well. I am behind the times these days. I can only assume.
no subject
Curious, how different the same concept may be, when one changes the surroundings in which it appears.
[ and then, after a slight pause, ] They sound remarkable people. [ his parents, obviously. it's something he needs to add, his focus always first on the information and second on the emotion, but that doesn't mean it's not sincerely meant. ]
... And you? Are you capable of these enchantments, as well? Since they taught you, you must have been, at a point in time. [ but whether his ghostly nature has changed that, well. he'd like to know. ]
no subject
[Which is only funny the first handful of times, because as much as Root tries to ascribe him the mantle of wise old professor, he really does not have that much patience for explaining himself for ultimately no reward. Could people whose changed surroundings end in "pfft alchemy is fake and magic isn't real" just move on and not ask him anything, for god's sake...
Anyway. He agrees on that point, in any case. About the concepts. The aside about his parents earns a brief and small smile, an effort both herculean and automatic, then,]
I was never a master enchanter. But the ideas. Yes. I do remember my formulas. Most of me is enchantment at the moment.
no subject
[ but then, people also have limited understanding of even basic concepts. that is why, even though he wants to help people as a broad concept, he isn't, well. a people-person, by any stretch of imagination. ]
... I see. That makes sense, [ both that he would remember and that his current form is mostly an enchantment, now. carefully, ] Do you believe it could be taught, still? [ and because he's not the type to circle around a point, ] I do not have any hextech crystals here, right now, which means I cannot use the runes I know. But I wonder if I might learn to use yours, to a similar effect.
no subject
[He waves a hand, dismissing entirely everyone who has ever questioned him about alchemy and thinks magic and science are mutually exclusive. These people... would not be welcomed at his alma mater, he supposes.
But, enchantments, yes.]
I would show you. [And the "would" there is important, because he could show anyone, but the list of people he would show is countable on one hand. Congratulations.] If you will show me yours in turn. Inert or otherwise.
no subject
[ and alchemy is no different, of course — he may not be adept at it, but far it be from him to dismiss it entirely.
he considers the offer — and nods. ]
Yes, of course. [ he would hardly expect not to return the favour; besides, he has a feeling octavian will understand the workings of hextech, of how the arcane speaks through the runes. it is not an easy feat to get it all to work, but he thinks octavian may just be such a man who could actually work on hextech, too. ]
I can show you the principle, the runes, all of it... and if I ever get a hextech crystal, more than the principle.
no subject
Like this, for example, mixing together whatever this "hextech" thing really is with his own understanding of alchemy and runes. If he were capable of looking more delighted, he would, but the ghostly dullness of his gaze does sparkle a little more. Yes, show him the crystals... somehow.]
That would be excellent. We will need space to compare runes. [A lot of chalkboards? Or perhaps just a lot of floor space, considering what he's done to his working half of this room. Which brings him back around to,] Shall we browse the local real estate now.
🎀
[ once he has found the appropriate space to work in, of course... and maybe manages to either obtain a hexgem of his own, somehow, or persuade jinx to part with hers.
but yes, time to get back to business — ]
Yes, let's. [ And Then They Browsed Real Estate! ]